


extraordinary merry christmas

by tmylm



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Pitchmas, bechloe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:20:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21944266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmylm/pseuds/tmylm
Summary: Merry Pitchmas tosnowglobe-art! You sent me this prompt forever ago, and I'm finally filling it for Pitchmas.Prompt: I wish you would write a fic where in PP1 Beca and chloe are hooking up in “secret” and are trying to hide it from the Bellas but everyone totally knows so they’re kind of trolling them
Relationships: Bechloe, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Comments: 36
Kudos: 259





	extraordinary merry christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Rated M!

“What the fuck just happened?”

Beca’s mumbling is intended only for herself, and drowned out by the creaking sound made by the shower handle as she turns it, for the second time, to set the water running again. She finds that she is too confused to even think about setting her towel back down, so that ends up soaked right away, though it is definitely not the most inconvenient thing to have happened to her within the last five minutes. So, Beca grits her teeth, mutters a sarcastic “Perfect,” then hangs the wet towel over the hook, glancing over her shoulder as she cautiously turns toward the stream of fast flowing water, attempting yet again to begin her shower.

_“She really did have a pretty voice, right?”_

The question comes from a nearby cubicle, and while Beca’s dark brows tug together, she opts against better judgment to ignore it.

 _“Super pretty face, too,”_ the redhead continues in something of a contented hum.

Again, Beca ignores it, the same way she ignores the heat that creeps toward her cheeks at the very thought of this stranger calling her _pretty_. It is the male voice, laced with unwarranted confidence, that has her finally letting out a frustrated groan.

_“Should’ve invited her in here with us.”_

“Dude!” Beca yells above the sound of the water, “I can hear you!”

_“Sorry!”_

There is a brief pause, before she hears shuffling outside, then the curtain is tugging open again. Beca’s eyes practically pop out of her head in what is probably misguided disbelief.

“Seriously? You’re seriously in here again?” Beca half yells, tone exasperated as she scrambles hastily for her wet towel.

The other woman seems entirely oblivious to what Beca assumes should be very obvious discomfort.

“Look, ignore him, you know how boys are,” the redhead frowns, nonchalantly waving off the thought. “Come to the Bellas house in about an hour, there shouldn’t be anyone else there but if there is, ask for Chloe. That’s me.” Chloe winks, continuing breezily before Beca can even object. “You still have the flier I gave you at the activities fair, right? There’s a little map on there, we’re easy to find.”

Beca is still dumbstruck by the whole thing, still trying to wrap her head around how this incredibly distracting woman has entered the stall—uninvited—not once, but _twice_ within the span of the last few minutes.

Chloe’s oblivious state only seems to continue, because there is a cheerful grin on her lips, the look of disdain etched across Beca’s face apparently going completely unnoticed.

“Okay, I’ll let you get back to your shower now!”

Chloe begins to turn around, to make her way back out, and Beca begins to lower her towel. Though, she does so prematurely apparently, because Chloe quickly turns toward her again.

“Oh! What’s your name again?”

Beca grits her teeth once more, grip tightening on the towel. “Beca.”

“Beca,” Chloe echoes with a short nod of her head. She seems to test it out on her tongue, feel it out somehow. Beca doesn’t understand it, but at the same time, she _does_ —she doesn’t understand that either. Eventually, Chloe’s lips curl upward slightly at the corner. “Got it. See you in an hour?”

“Dude, get out!”

“Sorry!”

It is not the first time Beca has seen Chloe Beale, but taking into account the stunning lack of boundaries the other girl has, she intends it to be the last.

Beca doesn’t go to the Bellas house, as per Chloe’s invitation. She thinks about it, she does, but in the end she just… Doesn’t go.

And Beca wonders if the boundaries thing is _really_ the only reason.

* * *

The next time Beca sees Chloe is at Bellas tryouts. It is not by choice, of course, not really. But her father, the person Beca has undoubtedly inherited her annoying level of stubbornness from, has made her a deal she really cannot refuse. It’s an easy one really; join a club, make some friends, and in return, he’ll see to it that she’s all moved out to LA by sophomore year. And that’s Beca’s goal. That has _always_ been Beca’s goal. So she can sacrifice some of her free time—it’s not like she’d be doing much of anything else with it anyway—to sing boring a cappella songs if it means getting what she wants in the end.

It is not until the very last second that Beca decides to even go through with the audition. She hangs by the door throughout everybody else’s tryout, then finds herself slipping a foot cautiously into the room when it seems like they’re getting ready to wrap up. Even then, it isn’t until Chloe catches sight of her and draws attention to the fact that she’s there that Beca decides she has to do this. To say that Beca had essentially stood her up the other day, Chloe acts incredibly welcoming and friendly, though the same cannot be said for her blonde co-captain, the one Beca vaguely recognizes from the activities fair.

Regardless, Beca performs her audition piece—not the song everybody else had prepared—and can’t help but lock eyes with Chloe a couple times throughout, mostly because it’s hard not to see the way that she’s staring. Plus, Chloe’s eyes are _really_ blue, almost captivatingly so. Beca hadn’t noticed when Chloe had burst into her shower cubicle, but then again, there were other, more distracting things on display then. She sees them now, though—really _sees_ them. And there is a certain kindness behind them that has Beca flashing the smallest of smiles Chloe’s way once she is done with her song.

They don’t talk, though. Beca just performs and then hurries out of the auditorium.

Beca sees Chloe again a few nights later, when she is somehow initiated into the Bellas. Beca had basically blacked out throughout most of her audition, but apparently she had managed to impress someone, and soon Beca is reciting the most ridiculous oath she has ever heard, before inexplicably being welcomed into the group.

If she’d thought the initiation was stupid, it is nothing in comparison to the after-party.

Admittedly, Beca has not actually attended any of Barden’s mixers so far, but when she’d envisioned college parties as a high schooler, she hadn’t pictured people bursting into song in unison. However, that’s the scene currently playing out before her eyes as Beca stands, drink in hand, watching on incredulously.

Beca is so dumbfounded by the whole thing, in fact, that she barely notices a less than sober body stumbling toward her.

“Beca!” Chloe’s voice rings cheerfully through the air, and Beca’s head snaps in her direction, just in time for Chloe to reach out and take a hold of her hands. Despite Chloe’s current intoxication, it is not just a way of holding herself upright—she removes the drink from Beca’s hand first, setting it down carefully on the ground beside them, then laces her fingers through Beca’s. Beca simply watches her with an arched brow, for some reason not shrugging her off.

Beca has a big thing about personal space, she doesn’t like people all up in hers, but she finds that she still doesn’t pull away, not even as Chloe leans in closer, somewhat sharply tugging Beca’s body further toward her own. In fact, there is something of an amused grin creeping onto Beca’s face as she studies the other girl, takes note of the way her eyes are still managing to focus, so she can’t be _that_ drunk… Right?

“I am so glad that I met you,” Chloe continues, words slightly slurred. And then she leans in closer, more so than Beca would usually be comfortable with, and Beca doesn’t understand why she isn’t pulling herself away. “I think that we’re going to be really fast friends.”

“Yeah…” Beca nods, voice a little higher pitched. Her expression is still overtaken by amusement, her tone essentially mirroring it. “Well, you saw me naked, so,” she continues, shooting a wink Chloe’s way. She’ll question that little action later, but for now, it feels right, and seems to pull something of a bashful look from Chloe in response. It is the first time Beca has seen Chloe looking that way, not entirely overcome by confidence, and there is something very human about it, she can’t help but notice.

“Right,” Chloe chuckles softly, teeth sinking gently into her bottom lip. “About that… I waited for you, you know? At the house?”

“Yeah?” Beca questions, head tilting slightly. She silently wonders why the thought of Chloe waiting around for her makes her feel so guilty. It isn’t like she owes her anything. Plus, she’d been mad at her about the shower incident, so her guilt feels a little out of place. It’s there, though, there’s no denying that.

“Mhm,” Chloe nods, full lips jutting out into a slight pout. Beca finds her gaze drifting down toward them, and she wonders if the red outline she sees is lipstick, or whether Chloe has been chugging red wine. She chooses not to study them too much longer, and instead pulls her sight back up to Chloe’s eyes. “Why didn’t you come?”

Beca wants to respond, feels strongly like she owes her some kind of explanation, but when it comes down to it, she doesn’t have one. Not really. So, her mouth opens briefly, but nothing comes out, and instead Beca gently shrugs a shoulder, gaze locked with Chloe’s.

“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now,” Chloe decides. The way she nonchalantly shrugs back in return feels like she is simply brushing it off; like water under the bridge. “I’m happy that you’re a Bella. Now maybe we’ll get to spend some time together.”

“Yeah, I’m sure we will,” Beca agrees, that hint of amusement still displayed on her face. “Bellas rehearsals are, like, what… A hundred times a week?”

(An obvious exaggeration, but they really are pretty often, and Beca wonders how she is going to manage school, her job at the radio station, _and_ Bellas rehearsals all at the same time…)

Chloe chuckles quietly, head shaking softly. Her red curls bounce with the movement, and Beca wonders why she is paying such close attention. She rarely does with anybody else, but there’s something about Chloe. She can’t put her finger on exactly what it is, but it’s _something_. It’s probably why she still hasn’t pulled away, in spite of their uncomfortably close proximity. It doesn’t _feel_ uncomfortable, and that’s even more confusing than everything else.

“No, I don’t mean with the other Bellas. I mean me and you.” Chloe’s teeth sink into her lower lip again, and Beca can’t be sure, but she feels like she notices Chloe’s eyes drifting down toward her mouth. It is a little unsettling, but still, Beca doesn’t pull away. “We can get to know each other better.”

By now, they are standing so closely together that their noses are practically touching, and Beca doesn’t realize she is holding her breath until Chloe leans back. Though, it’s only a fraction or two, before Chloe is catching her off guard with a brief, soft peck to the tip of her nose. It causes Beca’s eyes to widen, brows to knit together.

“Anyway,” Chloe grins, finally releasing Beca’s hands. Her own land on Beca’s upper arms, fingers curling around the fabric of her jacket, before she slides them right the way back down toward her hands. All Beca can do is watch her, still in disbelief. “I’m going to go get a drink,” Chloe announces, finally letting go. “This ginger needs her jiggle juice!” She looks back at Beca over her shoulder, hips shaking some, and again, all Beca can do is watch her, mouth hanging open slightly as Chloe begins to walk away, calling a brief, “See you later!” on the way.

“Make good choices,” Beca hears herself saying, though Chloe has already walked away, and Beca replays the last few moments over in her mind. A quizzical expression settles onto her face.

For the second time following a Chloe Beale encounter, Beca finds herself mumbling quietly, “Dude, what the fuck just happened?”

* * *

It strikes Beca, the more she drinks—she doesn’t get _wasted_ , just nicely buzzed—that Chloe’s prior statement ( _“Now maybe we’ll get to spend some time together”_ ) has been replaying in her mind throughout the course of the evening. In reality, it was probably just an offhand comment, one Chloe made individually to all of the new Bella recruits, but Beca can’t help but _think_ about it. Really think about it. And as she begins to drift off to sleep to the sound of her roommate’s quiet snoring, she begins to mentally play out the whole scene again, until her serene thoughts are interrupted by a light tap against the door.

Beca blinks into the darkness, wondering if she is just hearing things. However, the tap sounds again, followed by a hushed, _“Psst. Beca.”_

Kimmy Jin seems to stir briefly, but then she is rolling onto her side, and Beca knows the voice does not belong to her.

With a certain amount of caution, Beca peels herself from the comfort of her bed. She tugs the long sleeves of her shirt down almost protectively over her hands as she tiptoes toward the door, just in time for the sound of another soft tap.

“Chloe?” Beca questions quietly as she tugs open the door, gaze landing on an incredibly cheerful looking Chloe Beale. It’s the middle of the night, but apparently Chloe is still filled with energy, and Beca blinks blankly at the sight.

“Good, you’re awake,” Chloe hums, reaching out a hand to wrap slender fingers around Beca’s arm. “Grab some shoes, let’s go for a walk.”

For a brief moment, the expression on Beca’s face is one of bewilderment. She wants to question Chloe, to ask if she realizes what time it is, and ask why she isn’t in bed herself. But Kimmy Jin is stirring again, and Beca has _just_ begun to stop effortlessly pissing her roommate off, so she hesitates for only a second or two, before grabbing the nearest pair of boots and tugging them onto her feet. They don’t pair very well with her long sleeved shirt and pajama shorts, but Beca doesn’t care about that. She steps out into the hallway, softly closing the door behind her, then folds her arms across her middle, looking at Chloe like she has two heads.

“I thought hazing was illegal…” Beca states. The sound of Chloe’s light giggle only confuses her further. “What are you doing? Do you know what time it is?”

“I told you I wanted to spend some time with you,” Chloe states breezily, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

Beca’s brows tug together again. “What? Now?”

Chloe simply nods, humming lightly to herself as she links her arm through Beca’s, beginning to lead them down the secluded hallway.

Although she is still confused, still unsure as to whether she is dreaming or not, Beca finds the smallest of amused smiles tugging at the corner of her lips, and wonders why the hell she isn’t more thrown off by this late-night kidnapping. “Has anyone ever told you you have a really weird boundary problem?”

“Hmm,” Chloe shrugs, the pace of her footsteps slowing slightly. “Do you want me to leave?”

Inexplicably, and without prior thought, Beca shakes her head, and Chloe responds with a sweet smile. “That’s what I thought.”

Although she’d stayed a while, the party was still in full swing when Beca had decided to duck out earlier, but there is now a very apparent stillness to the air once they make it outside of the building. Although Beca has no idea where they’re actually going, she finds that she doesn’t resist.

“Did you enjoy your first college party?” Chloe questions conversationally, arm still looped comfortably through Beca’s as they walk.

“Uh, sure,” Beca nods shortly, still confused as to how Chloe still has the level of energy she does. And how she’s walking without falling over… From what Beca could tell earlier, Chloe had been pretty drunk. She seems to have sobered some by now, though.

“Sure?” Chloe frowns, head tilting as she eyes Beca skeptically. “So no.”

“No,” Beca shakes her head, “I did. It was fine. It was just… A lot, I guess.”

“Mm, yeah,” Chloe shrugs a shoulder, “I get that. For lame a cappella nerds, we know how to throw a party.”

Beca doesn’t know whether Chloe is referencing her comment when she’d first bumped into Chloe and Aubrey at the activities fair ( _“Sorry, it’s just… It’s pretty lame”_ ), or whether Chloe _knows_ that, despite her obvious passion for her craft, singing a cappella competitively _is_ pretty lame.

“Yikes, right,” Chloe winks, and Beca’s suspicions are confirmed—it’s the former.

“I stand by my statement,” Beca chuckles quietly, though can’t help but feel at least a little guilty for judging the girls right off the bat. Then again, that’s something Beca does, she can’t help herself. It’s the same way she pushes everyone away without real explanation… It’s just something that she does.

“Hm,” Chloe hums, arm slipping from its position looped with Beca’s to instead coast her hand downward until she can slide her fingers through Beca’s, tugging her gently up the steps before them. It has only just registered to Beca that they’re back at the party scene, though it is now decidedly much quieter. “Well, you’re a lame a cappella nerd now, too.”

“Whatever,” Beca mumbles with a somewhat playful roll of her eyes, though her brow arches as Chloe pauses in the exact spot they’d been in before, back when ‘this ginger had needed her jiggle juice’… Whatever that meant. “Uh, what are we doing here?”

“Starting over,” Chloe shrugs, releasing her hold on Beca’s hand and hopping down a step. Beca finds herself reaching out instinctively, just in case she has to catch her, but Chloe keeps her balance, and soon turns toward Beca from the step below. Beca notes a grin forming on Chloe’s lips.

“Uh, okay…” Beca nods slowly, head tilting slightly as she studies Chloe. Her gaze drifts downward to their hands, since Chloe has reached out to connect them again. She really is replaying the whole scene Beca has been mentally going over all evening, and while Beca doesn’t understand it, she also doesn’t move away. “I’ll bite.”

Beca notices the way Chloe is staring at her, seemingly studying something. It is a lot of eye contact, the kind that makes Beca feel very uneasy. “What are you do—”

“You wear eyeliner to bed?”

“What? Whoa—”

Beca’s question is cut off by the way Chloe tugs her closer, the same way she had earlier.

“You were wearing it in the shower, too,” Chloe muses, and Beca wonders whether she should be flattered by how much attention Chloe has paid to her, or if it should weird her out. She doesn’t have much time to think about it, though, before Chloe is almost pressing their noses together again. However, she tilts her chin this time, and the feeling of soft lips pressing against her own causes Beca’s eyes to widen briefly, before she feels herself, without calculation, kissing her back.

“Whoa, dude…” Beca stutters slightly as they finally part, eyes fixated on Chloe. “What the— Aren’t you with that guy? The one from the shower… And the party tonight.”

Chloe’s bottom lip tugs in between her teeth, and Beca notices a look of amusement drawing itself across her pale features. “So you _were_ watching me tonight.”

“What? No, I wasn’t—”

Chloe cuts her off with a gentle giggle, finally leaning back slightly. It hadn’t even occurred to Beca that they were still in such a close proximity to one another, she’s still trying to figure out what just transpired between the two of them, and more importantly, why she didn’t hate it.

“Tom? No, he’s just a friend,” Chloe shrugs, and Beca wonders silently why the revelation sends a wave of relief washing throughout her. She just nods slowly in response, gaze drifting down toward Chloe’s lips, full and inviting, and studies the way her tongue flicks out to lick over the small part between them.

“Boundaries,” Beca says, still a little dumbstruck.

Chloe’s gaze has moved toward her lips too, and Beca takes note of the way her heart has begun to race a little bit.

“You want me to leave?” Chloe asks, the same way she had before. Again, the same way as before, Beca shakes her head, and does nothing to pull away from the incoming kiss Chloe plants once again to her lips.

“That’s what I thought,” Chloe mumbles softly, and somehow Beca is the one to close the gap between them this time.

This is the third Chloe Beale encounter that has Beca wondering what the fuck just happened.

It is the first that has her praying to God that it happens again.

Beca goes to sleep that night a mixture of both confused and surprisingly elated, with absolutely no idea of the conversation taking place at the Bellas house.

* * *

“Chloe? Jesus, I thought someone was breaking in!” Aubrey breathes, second place trophy held above her head as the light flickers on. It is somewhat blinding in comparison to the darkness outside, and Chloe finds herself blinking quickly to adjust. “I thought you’d be staying with Tom.”

“Why would I be staying with Tom?” Chloe questions, head tilting as she side-steps around the couch she has just walked into. “I wasn’t with Tom. I was with Beca.”

Aubrey studies her curiously, finally lowering the trophy to her side. She places it gently down onto the armchair, before quickly slipping an arm around Chloe’s back and helping to guide her toward the stairs. “Okay,” Aubrey grumbles, unsure of whether to press for further information. She decides that it’s late, that Chloe should really get some sleep. “Let’s get you to bed.”

“She’s a good kisser,” Chloe hums, voice contented and airy.

In the morning, Chloe doesn’t remember she and Aubrey’s brief conversation.

She remembers kissing Beca, though. She remembers Beca kissing her back, too.

* * *

The first Bellas rehearsal of the season is set for only two days later, and Beca assumes that will be the next time she’ll see Chloe again. So, it takes her by slight surprise when she sees the flash of red hair entering the otherwise empty radio station the very next day, where Beca is busy stacking CDs alphabetically.

It is rare that anybody other than she and the three others who work here ever actually come into the building, but when they do get the occasional visitor, it’s generally for Luke, the station manager.

“Uh, hey,” Beca greets, straightening up once Chloe comes properly into view. She reaches up a hand to tuck a stray chunk of mousy hair behind her ear, gaze flickering toward the empty booth. “Luke’s not here.”

“That’s good,” Chloe shrugs, sending Beca a friendly smile. “I’m not here to see Luke.”

“Then why are you here?” Beca questions a little dumbly, a part of her wondering whether Chloe even remembers their previous night. What had been playing through Beca’s mind the entire night and day today could be decidedly entirely unmemorable for Chloe, after all.

“For you,” Chloe states proudly, holding out a to-go coffee cup Beca’s way.

Beca stares for a moment, before almost cautiously reaching out a hand to accept the offering. “Uh, thanks.”

“Of course,” Chloe grins, bringing the second cup up to her lips and taking a quick sip. And then she just stands, looking at Beca neither expectantly nor otherwise, and Beca isn’t entirely sure what’s going on.

“Why do I feel like I’m in one of those sorority slasher movies right now?” Beca asks, brows slowly knitted together. It occurs to her that she hasn’t pulled her gaze from Chloe, and she tries not to put too much stock into the fact that she notices how Chloe’s eyes seem to brighten some along with her short chuckle. They crinkle slightly at the corners, and there is something strangely cute about it, Beca thinks.

“I don’t know. You’re not in a sorority,” Chloe points out, sitting herself down casually on the edge of the table beside Beca.

“I guess you’ve got me there,” Beca nods, brows raising briefly. She allows the coffee cup to warm her fingers, though doesn’t actually take a sip, not yet. Instead, she just stares, quietly awaiting an explanation.

“I just thought you might need some caffeine, you had a late night last night,” Chloe says, bringing her cup up to her lips to take another small sip. “You drink coffee, right?”

Beca nods, glancing down at the cup in her hands. Silently, she wonders why she finds the gesture so sweet. And why she insists on stopping herself when she feels the slight smile forming on her lips.

For generally such an awkward person, Beca can’t help but notice how _not_ awkward the silence is right now. There is something oddly comforting about Chloe Beale, it’s something Beca has noticed before now, but that sits even more obviously with her in the present. Maybe it’s why she dares herself to ask the question that has been running through her mind, both before and after their impromptu do-over last night.

“Hey, look, so I have to ask,” Beca begins, bottom lip tugging between her teeth as she brings her gaze up toward Chloe. Chloe looks at her patiently, gently nodding her head in silent permission to go on. “At the party, when you said you wanted to spend time with me… Is that what you meant? Like last night, when you came to my room?”

“Yes,” Chloe nods without hesitation, setting her cup down on the table beside her. She pushes herself up from her seated position, and Beca almost takes an instinctive step back. But she doesn’t, and instead she just watches as Chloe approaches. “And like this. There’s something intriguing about you, Beca. I want to get to know you.”

And there it is again, that strange racing of her heart, the same one she’d noticed when she and Chloe had been standing so closely together last night.

Rather than say anything more, Beca just nods her head in understanding. Inwardly, she wonders what’s so intriguing about her—to Beca, she is really pretty plain, kind of distant. Of the two, Chloe is definitely the most intriguing, but Beca chooses not to say so.

“Is that all you wanted to ask me?” Chloe questions, stopping in front of Beca. “Nothing else?”

Beca doesn’t love so much prolonged eye contact usually, but she finds that she doesn’t even try to tear her line of sight from Chloe, and it is not for the first time. She simply shakes her head _no_ , she doesn’t have anything else to ask, and Chloe responds with a soft, kind smile, one that is already becoming somewhat familiar to her.

“Okay, good. And is that okay?” Chloe continues, gently taking the cup back from Beca’s hand. Beca releases it easily, briefly watching as Chloe stretches over to set it down on the table beside her own, before she straightens up again, standing directly in front of her. “If we get to know each other?”

Beca can’t tell whether she leans in first or if Chloe does, but all she manages is a short nod of her head, before there is suddenly no gap between them, and their lips are reconnecting the same way they had only the night before. Beca doesn’t completely understand the sense of sweet release that washes over her, but it is almost like she has been waiting for this since she and Chloe parted last night. Beca is so comfortable in such a strange and new situation that she doesn’t even try to fight it. She just gives in, allows her eyes to flutter shut and her lips to part in an effort to deepen the impromptu kiss.

“Beca?”

When she blinks back to reality, she notices that Chloe is the one with the quizzical expression now. Chloe is seated on the edge of the table, gazing at her with a slightly tilted head and a soft, amused look on her face. “Are you okay? You kind of disappeared into your own world for a second there.” Chloe lifts her coffee cup up to her mouth, and it is only then that Beca realizes she’s still holding her own.

That is the first time Beca finds herself daydreaming about Chloe Beale, which is a little unsettling, considering Chloe is literally sitting right there beside her.

“What? Oh, yeah,” Beca clears her throat awkwardly, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Chloe doesn’t seem to believe her, but she eyes her a moment longer, before eventually nodding her head. “Okay. Well, I should go, I just wanted to bring you coffee.” Chloe hops up gracefully from her position against the table, straightening out her curls with her fingers. “I’ll see you at Bellas rehearsals tomorrow?”

Beca’s tongue flickers out to lick through the part in her now dry lips, head nodding slowly. “Yeah, okay.” She glances down at the cup still held securely in her hands, blinking at it a couple times, before she feels the softness of Chloe’s hand gently squeezing her arm in passing. Chloe proceeds to breeze on by toward the door.

Beca doesn’t realize she is holding her breath until the door has closed behind Chloe, and suddenly it’s just her and a whole stack of CDs again. The faint sound of the music playing from its automatic list inside of the booth is the only thing to accompany her.

“Dude,” Beca mutters quietly to herself, hand rising to brush her fingers through her hair, almost a way of trying—unsuccessfully—to distract herself. “Seriously… What the fuck is happening?”

* * *

Surprisingly, it is not the middle of the night kiss that has Beca so thrown off. Instead, it’s the unwelcome daydream, and Beca worries on her way to her first ever Bellas rehearsal if there’ll be some kind of repeat when she sees Chloe again.

However, when she enters the room, everybody is already seated, with Aubrey and Chloe standing before them, Chloe wearing a distractingly bright pink shirt. While she flashes a small, welcoming smile Beca’s way, it’s clear she’s in full co-captain mode.

 _Co_ being the key—Aubrey seems to lead most of the discussion.

Their rehearsal starts out with the group losing two members thanks to, in Aubrey’s words, being ‘treble-boned’, and Beca finds herself stunned over the fact that their stupid oath had been a serious one. She wonders quietly if their rule about sleeping with the Trebles carries over into doing things with other members of the Bellas, though Chloe doesn’t seem to be concerned, so Beca chooses not to be either.

Beca proceeds with a certain amount of caution around Chloe throughout their rehearsal, though. And perhaps it’s a little unfair really, because Chloe hasn’t actually done anything wrong. She didn’t somehow magically induce Beca’s daydream, despite being the star of it, but that doesn’t keep Beca from snapping at her a couple times. Chloe looks briefly hurt once or twice, but she seems to shrug it off quickly, and Beca feels like an entire day has passed by the time Aubrey finally calls their rehearsal to an end.

With singing, learning choreography and even having to do cardio workouts, it is honestly exhausting, though not nearly as much as it is for Beca in trying hard not to focus too intently on Chloe. They lock eyes a couple times, but it isn’t until Beca finally exits the room that they eventually talk.

“Beca, wait up!” Chloe calls casually after her. The sound of hurried footsteps registers, before Chloe is falling easily into step beside Beca. “How was your first rehearsal? You seemed a little tense. Is everything okay?”

“It was fine,” Beca shrugs, glancing toward Chloe briefly, “I’m fine.”

She has turned to face forward again, watching where she is walking, but Beca can see Chloe from the corner of her eye. She can see the way Chloe is studying her almost suspiciously. “You don’t seem fine.”

Beca pauses to take a breath, considering just ignoring Chloe’s statement. But she soon finds her mouth opening and words flowing out, and Beca is glad everybody else is too far ahead of them to hear their conversation.

“Look, I’m fine, okay? I’m just tired. Classes are tiring, and that rehearsal was intense. And you kissed me, Chloe,” Beca blurts out the last part without caution, almost surprised at herself for doing so, but not enough that she can’t continue. She does pause for a second, but she doesn’t altogether stop. “You kissed me, and I don’t know if you even remember doing it, but it just has me kind of confused.”

It’s not the first time Beca has considered Chloe’s facial expressions cute when she sees the way her nose crinkles, but now doesn’t feel like the right time to voice it. So she just waits for a response, and finds that she is only further confused by Chloe’s soft chuckle.

“Of course I remember,” Chloe confirms with a short nod of her head. “I wasn’t wasted, Beca. I was drunk, sure, but not so much that I didn’t know what I was doing.”

Up until now, Beca has been so sure that she’d imagined everything, or at the very least that if she hadn’t, Chloe wouldn’t remember. She isn’t sure how to respond now, though; she hasn’t yet considered Chloe actually knowing that it had happened.

“Oh…” Beca finally says, a little dumbly. “Oh. Well… Okay then.”

It’s clear that Chloe is trying to bite back another laugh, but she does well to hide it. Her tone is light and definitely laced with amusement as she continues, though. “Is that why you’ve been so weird with me? Because of that?”

“Well… Yeah,” Beca nods, only now realizing how ridiculous she sounds. It’s college, it’s a time for experimentation, isn’t it? People kiss people all the time, and Beca had kissed back, it was consensual, so it’s not supposed to be a big deal. But to Beca, this is, and that makes her feel kind of stupid.

“Okay,” Chloe takes in a breath, evidently trying to gather her words. “Well, then I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I just had wanted to kiss you during the party, and then I didn’t, so I figured I’d take another shot at it. Maybe I just read the chemistry wrong or something.” She shoots Beca an apologetic look. “I really am sorry, Beca.”

The explanation, the _apology_ , kind of throws Beca off even further. She hadn’t been expecting it. She didn’t know what she was expecting in diving into this conversation, but it wasn’t that, and it causes something of a confusing emptiness to creep into her stomach. However, she doesn’t know how to respond, so instead she just slowly nods her head.

The small smile settled on Chloe’s lips isn’t an amused one anymore, nor is it forced. It just looks genuine, kind. And Beca finds herself drawn in by it.

“I’ll back off, okay?” Chloe promises, hand rising to settle gently against Beca’s arm. She gives it a light squeeze, before quickly dropping her arm back down to her side. “I actually have somewhere I have to be right now, but I’ll see you tonight?”

For half a second, Beca wonders what’s happening tonight, but _of course_ there is yet another party planned. Beca has had no intention of attending thus far, though. But as she watches Chloe hurry away, neat curls cascading down the bright pink fabric of her shirt, she decides that if Chloe is going to be there, then she will be, too.

It is another ‘what the fuck?’ moment for her, it really is.

* * *

The first party, the one to follow the Bellas initiation, had taken Beca by surprise. She hadn’t expected them to go mingling with the other groups, but they had, and Beca had just gone along with it. Tonight, however, she puts more of a conscious effort into her outfit, something very foreign to her—Beca doesn’t normally care about the way people perceive her, but for some reason, she does tonight. She wears tight-fitting skinny jeans, paired with a gray shirt. Her boots have a slight heel, and Beca puts a little more effort into her makeup than usual. Her hair is styled neatly, too.

She also begins drinking as soon as she gets to the party, this one taking place inside the Trebles’ house. It strikes Beca as strange that they’re not supposed to hook up with them, but that it’s fine for them to attend parties at their property, but she decides not to question it.

Chloe is already there by the time Beca arrives. She’s wearing a flowing blue dress that perfectly compliments her eyes, and she sends a greeting wave Beca’s way, along with a bright smile, but as promised, she seems to be backing off. And not that she’ll admit it, not even to herself, but Beca kind of hates that.

“Sour drink?” A distinct voice questions, and Beca glances up to see Amy standing beside her, drink in hand. Beca just looks at her in confusion for a second, before Amy motions toward her face. “You look all… I don’t know. Sour.”

“Oh. Right,” Beca nods, glancing down into her almost empty cup. “Yeah, too much vodka, not enough cranberry.” She lies a little too easily, though Amy seems to believe her. Realistically, Beca has been making her drinks kind of weak—she still isn’t exactly the most seasoned drinker, so she’s definitely nowhere near wasted, but she’s tipsy, and that at least gives her a _slight_ edge of confidence that she wouldn’t normally have.

Beca can’t tell whether that is a good or a bad thing, though, because as she converses casually with Amy, she finds that her gaze drifts past the blonde and toward that familiar red hair on multiple occasions, and she doesn’t understand exactly why the sight of Chloe with her arm hanging all over Tom seems to bother her. Sure, they’d kissed, but it wasn’t a big deal. At least, that’s what she’s trying to convince herself, but the moment she sees Tom planting a kiss to Chloe’s lips and then scurrying away, likely to go grab another drink for the two of them, Beca can’t help but see it as her opening.

“Hey, Amy, can you excuse me for a sec?” Beca says, cutting Amy off mid-sentence.

Amy doesn’t really seem to care, and simply shrugs as she brings her cup up to her lips and tips whatever is left of its contents into her mouth. “Yeah, sure.” Her response is a little delayed, considering Beca is already hurrying by her and making a beeline for Chloe.

“Oh, hey!” Chloe greets cheerfully, catching sight of Beca beside her. “Are you having fu—”

Chloe doesn’t get to finish her question, not before Beca is taking her by the arm and gently tugging her toward the nearest bathroom. Chloe doesn’t even make an attempt to stop her, she simply trails along closely behind her, until Beca is switching on the light and closing the door behind them. Finally, she releases her hold on Chloe’s arm.

“Um, everything okay?” Chloe asks, hands planting on her hips. She tilts her head slightly, watching Beca with a hint of amusement etched across her face.

“I didn’t say I wanted you to back off, okay?” Beca frowns, unsure of where her words are coming from. She really isn’t _drunk_ , just very nicely buzzed, but apparently Chloe has some kind of intoxicating effect on her, and while Beca’s heart is hammering hard against her chest, she doesn’t try to retract her statement.

Chloe, also seemingly a little buzzed, is much calmer than Beca is, all things considered. She has just been tugged away from her friends to an inexplicably annoyed Beca, but still, she remains calm and collected. She’s just Chloe.

“Okay,” Chloe nods her head shortly, gaze still studying Beca’s face. “Then what do you want?”

It is unlike Beca, so very unlike her, to make the first move—but then again, is it _really_ the first move, after Chloe already started all of this after the first party?—but it is with only the briefest hesitation that she finds herself taking a step closer. Instantly, Chloe’s hands move from her own hips to clutch gently at the dark fabric of Beca’s loose shirt, just in time for their lips to crash together.

Beca may have made the move, but it doesn’t surprise her that Chloe proceeds to take charge, and soon Chloe is backing her up against the closed door, pulling with a certain amount of restraint away from the kiss.

“How much have you had to drink?” Chloe asks, blue eyes darkening slightly as they scan over Beca’s face. Beca’s eyes are focused perfectly, and Chloe seems to take note of that, because she doesn’t have to try to convince her that she’s fine.

“Not a lot,” Beca admits, to which Chloe nods briefly, before moving back in to pick up where they’d left off.

This time, as Chloe’s lips press somewhat messily against her own, Beca knows it is not a daydream. She knows she isn’t imagining the bitter taste of jack daniels coating Chloe’s tongue as it slips past the small part in her lips, nor is she imagining the heat that rises to her cheeks beneath the feeling of Chloe’s soft hands as they release their hold on her shirt and lift to cup her face almost possessively.

This is not just the small peck they’d shared before, nor the one to follow. This time, Beca feels like her lips are fighting against Chloe’s to deepen the whole thing, to really soak in the reality of what is transpiring between them now. Thus far, she hasn’t really known what to do with her hands, but she slips one behind her back to slide the lock on the bathroom door, ensuring that it really is just the two of them.

Before initiation night, Beca had never kissed a girl before. She’d never even considered it really, but it isn’t something she finds herself questioning. She doesn’t care who Chloe is, she just cares that she’s _Chloe_ , and Beca is entirely consumed by her as slender fingers slide up into her hair, with Beca’s hands finding their way to the fabric of Chloe’s dress.

A soft whine falls from Beca’s kiss-swollen lips as Chloe abruptly ends their kiss. Beca’s eyes open to gawk at a breathless Chloe as she stands before her, hands still wound through her hair. It seems that Chloe is taking a second to assess the situation, to gauge Beca’s feelings surrounding the whole thing, and Beca wonders how easy she is to read.

“Don’t stop,” Beca mumbles, just in case the look of desperation in her darkened eyes isn’t enough to do it for her. Perhaps that was the permission Chloe had been looking for, because she takes only a second or two longer, before she is leaning back in, this time to duck her head and press her parted lips to the soft skin of Beca’s neck. Beca’s eyes instantly flutter shut as full lips trail down toward her collarbone, and she can’t help the soft whimper that rises from her throat in response.

“You sound so hot,” Chloe murmurs softly against Beca’s skin, a lustful tone to her quiet words. Her fingers finally unwind from their position in Beca’s hair, and instead begin to coast lightly down her torso, parted lips still sucking gently against her skin.

It is not just because of Chloe’s encouragement that Beca lets another soft whimper fall from her lips the further Chloe’s hands trail toward the button of her jeans. While Chloe’s lips keep working against her skin, leaving wet, open-mouthed kisses across all available patches, she pauses briefly as her fingers settle over the button, and Beca wonders if she is looking for further permission. It comes in the form of Beca’s hands slipping past Chloe’s to urgently unfasten it for her, and Beca is almost embarrassed by how damp her panties have gotten, though not enough to want Chloe to stop. It is the opposite she wants, in fact. She silently begs her to lower her hands, and soon Beca feels a long finger stroking against her swollen clit over the fabric of her wet panties, and her hips jut forward in an effort to seek out more contact.

It is such a small, simple touch, but it has a soft moan escaping from the back of Beca’s throat the firmer Chloe presses down against her.

“Fuck,” Beca breathes quietly as Chloe’s hand slides up slightly, almost like she is about to pull it back out from between her legs, but soon her lips are kissing their way upward to reconnect with Beca’s, and her hand ducks quickly down again, this time inside of the wet material, until her middle finger is coming into direct contact with the sensitive flesh.

“You’re so wet,” Chloe mutters into the kiss, her teeth dragging in Beca’s bottom lip. If she wasn’t enjoying this so much, Beca might feel embarrassed again, considering just how turned on she is for the woman between her legs. But as it is, all she can feel is grateful. Grateful for the way Chloe knows exactly where to touch her, exactly when to lower her hand and slowly slide a long finger inside of her. The action pulls another low moan from Beca in response, though it is muffled by the way their lips are pressing against one another’s, and Beca’s thighs instantly part further to allow Chloe more room to work.

Beca hadn’t necessarily intended this when she’d gone to pull Chloe away from the crowd. She hadn’t known what she’d expected, but it hadn’t been this. Though, she has absolutely no complaints. The only sounds coming from her, in fact, are those of pleasure, hips rocking gently the harder Chloe buries two fingers inside of her aching center.

Being so wet and so generally ready for her is not nearly as embarrassing to Beca as the speed at which she comes. It is almost like Chloe has only just gotten started, and already Beca can feel herself clenching tightly around her, feel the way she is reaching that final release. Her sounds have intensified, head tilting back against the hard wood of the door as Chloe pulls back from their kiss. Beca’s eyes are closed, but she can feel Chloe’s stare on her as she pumps her fingers in and out of her dripping center, tips curling on each push back in to stroke so expertly against the most perfect spot. Without Chloe’s mouth to drown out her moaning, Beca does so freely, hand reaching up to grip onto the back of Chloe’s neck while the other presses flat against the door, like she is trying desperately to hold herself upright. Beca can feel the way her legs have begun to shake, like they’re not going to hold her weight much longer, and it is clear that Chloe knows it, too. Her free arm rises to slide behind Beca’s back, wrapping around her body and holding onto her tightly. As Beca comes, Chloe’s fingers slide out of her and instead begin to rub fast, tight circles against her swollen clit, until Beca can’t handle it anymore.

Naturally, she needs a moment to come down from the high Chloe has caused, and Beca’s body feels weak as she leans back against the door, Chloe’s arm still holding her upright. Slowly, she ceases the movement of her fingers, hand emerging from her open jeans, and Beca fights to catch her breath, soft whimpering sounds still falling periodically.

Decidedly, this has been the hottest experience of Beca’s life so far, and it is something she knows she is going to mentally revisit over and over again. Though, she doesn’t realize it could even get any better until her lids flutter back open and she sees the way Chloe is staring at her with hooded eyes. Their gazes lock easily, and Chloe lifts the hand that’d been working so expertly between Beca’s legs up to her mouth, lips wrapping around her fingers and cleaning off the slick evidence of their current tryst with her tongue.

“I wanted to taste you so bad,” Chloe comments once she releases her fingers from between her lips with a devilish pop, eyes still on Beca’s face. Heat rushes back to its place between Beca’s legs at the mental image of Chloe on her knees, of her _really_ tasting her, but something about this tells Beca that there’ll be time for that, that this isn’t going to be just a one time thing.

God, she hopes it is not going to be just a one time thing.

* * *

As it turns out, it is very much _not_ just a one time thing.

Beca had been right when she’d considered Chloe some kind of intoxication for her, because each time she sees her after the party, it is difficult for her to keep her hands to herself. Her thoughts are a whole other story, she doesn’t have to try to control those. Does it make for a few awkward instances when Chloe brushes by her very deliberately, pressing up against her a little too long? Sure, but Beca doesn’t mind it. In fact, she actually kind of likes whatever this is, she likes that it’s just theirs, and Beca remains oblivious to the knowing glances shared between Amy and Aubrey during rehearsals.

Chloe still doesn’t remember her conversation with Aubrey after the initiation party, and Beca has no idea that Amy saw her tugging Chloe into the bathroom at the other party. She has no idea that Amy witnessed the two of them leaving separately in an attempt to be sly, but both looking entirely disheveled and very much like they’d just had sex directly afterwards.

So, their secret is not quite the _secret_ Beca and Chloe think it is, with the two remaining blissfully ignorant to anybody else’s knowledge, and very much consumed by one another.

It is not like this even has to be a secret, truth be told. There’s nothing going on; nothing more than the two sleeping together, anyway. Or, that’s what Beca is telling herself, at least. Sometimes, she catches herself staring at Chloe a little too longingly, doesn’t shrug her off when it’s just the two of them and Chloe reaches for her hand. But it’s just sex. Beca still has no desire to stay in school, and plans to be in LA by the summer. She doesn’t need any emotional attachments keeping her from her end goal. But this with Chloe, she likes it, and it’s not something she has any intentions of stopping.

Although most of the Bellas are freshmen, therefore currently living in the campus dorms, Aubrey insists on them all staying in the Bellas house the night before competitions. She says it is so they can pull together some last minute practice runs for the following day, but Beca is pretty sure that, in reality, it is because Aubrey doesn’t trust them all (see: Amy) to spend the night sensibly, and worries that they (Amy) won’t make it to the competition in one piece.

Beca likes the part of this that means getting to spend the night curled up in Chloe’s bed, although she won’t admit that. What she doesn’t love, however, is the part that means the whole house is littered with Bellas the entire evening before; it makes it much more difficult for she and Chloe to sneak around. Since it’s just Aubrey and Chloe living in the house, it is normally pretty easy for them to go undetected, but not on pre-competition nights. Not that that stops them.

They have learned from the last Bellas sleepover, when it proved impossible for them to sneak away, that they have to get a little more creative this time. So, Beca spins some story about how she is going to be working late at the radio station, and will join the rest of the girls later in the evening.

Chloe claims she has to take a shower partway through the girls sitting around and watching a movie, and uses the time to quietly let Beca in through the kitchen window—one of the only times Beca has been grateful for her small size—and the two of them wind up in the upstairs bathroom together. Undetected, as far as they can tell.

“It’s disgusting how you can’t keep your hands off of me just for one night,” Beca teases playfully, having eased into a much more comfortable dynamic around Chloe by now.

Chloe quietly locks the bathroom door behind them, but pauses to glance over her shoulder at Beca, shrugging almost nonchalantly. “Oh? You can leave, if you want to.” The soft smirk on her face only grows more prominent in response to the scowl drawing itself across Beca’s features. Chloe folds her arms across her middle, expression triumphant. “That’s what I thought.”

Nothing will quite beat Chloe going down on Beca in Chloe’s bed with the house so empty that Beca can literally scream her name as she rides out the most intense orgasm of her life, but they’re both content to take what they can get, so there are a lot of secret bathroom trysts like the one currently taking place. The large mirror actually comes in kind of handy, Beca finds, as Chloe leans her over the sink and tilts her face to begin peppering kisses right the way along her jaw. Beca’s eyes are closed, losing herself in the feeling as that familiar heat spreads between her parted legs under the gentle pressure of Chloe’s two fingers pushing inside of her from behind. They open briefly, though, and Beca is met with the sight of Chloe watching her through the mirror’s reflection, and God, there is something ridiculously hot about that, about Chloe watching what she is doing to her.

Beca reaches over her shoulder to wrap an arm around Chloe’s neck, tugging her face closer to crash her lips against Chloe’s, and allows herself to moan a little more loudly against her mouth. In turn, the speed of Chloe’s fingers picks up as they push fast, tight circles into Beca’s aching, swollen clit. Pair that with the thought of getting to lower to her knees and make Chloe come for her afterwards, and Beca is so wet that long fingers move so easily, so quickly through her desperate, dripping arousal. The grip of Beca’s hand tightens as it rests on the back of Chloe’s neck, repetitive whimpers falling against full lips.

Beca is so close to coming undone, so close to purring that Chloe fuck her harder, when the obnoxiously loud sound of her phone beginning to ring catches them both off guard. The volume is only intensified by the bathroom’s acoustics, and if this were any other time, Beca would ignore it. But it isn’t any other time; she isn’t supposed to be here, not yet, and all of their friends are gathered downstairs, probably very much able to hear her phone.

“Shit,” Beca hisses, reaching down to wrap her fingers around Chloe’s wrist. Begrudgingly, Beca tugs Chloe’s hand out from inside of her panties, heart hammering inside of her chest as she reaches into her back pocket to produce her phone. It practically stops when she sees the name up on the screen. “It’s Amy,” Beca whispers, a panicked look in her eyes, “What should I do?”

“I don’t know,” Chloe shakes her head, glancing down at the screen, too. Beca notices that there is subtle panic in her eyes to match her own. “Answer it.”

Quickly, Beca taps the answer call button, pressing the phone to her ear and speaking as quietly as she can without sounding too suspicious. Then again, she is breathing hard, though she tries to calm that as best as she can, too. “Amy, hey,” Beca greets as breezily as possible, swallowing thickly.

“What?” Amy’s voice sounds from the other side of the phone. She’s half yelling, and Beca can hear her both through the phone and from downstairs. “Beca? I can’t hear you. Speak up.”

Chloe can hear the conversation, and simply looks at Beca helplessly.

“Uh,” Beca stammers, “Sorry, Amy. Can’t talk. Luke’s coming.” She quickly ends the call, then slides the phone onto silent mode. Both she and Chloe exchange a somewhat worried glance, and neither knows that all of the girls are sitting downstairs giggling quietly amongst themselves, knowing very well what’s actually going on.

To give the other girls their credit, they do pretty well to keep up their act, none of them batting an eyelid when Beca finally sneaks back outside and appears in through the front door as if just arriving from her radio station shift, nor when Chloe bounces downstairs five minutes later, pajamas on and towel in hand as she casually pats at her damp hair.

“Oh, Chloe,” Amy says, eyes still on the television screen. “I think I heard your phone ringing when you were up there.”

Both Beca and Chloe shoot one another a look from across the room, both trying to hold back their amused smiles, though neither actually says anything.

Neither do the other girls.

The Bellas house is like a sorority house, there are enough rooms that nobody actually needs to share with Aubrey or Chloe, but of course Beca elects to do so anyway. It’s not like anybody really needs to know about it, so they’re not worried about being caught out, and once everybody retires to their rooms for the night, Beca and Chloe in Chloe’s, it’s like they can finally stop holding their breath.

“I think our sneaking you in the window plan worked pretty well,” Chloe comments as she tugs the towel that has been hanging around her neck for most of the evening off and tosses it into the laundry hamper. Beca has already flopped down onto the mattress, and watches as Chloe moves around her room, tidying things away and just generally getting ready for bed.

Beca tries not to think about how much she likes the domesticity of it, how much she enjoys just being with Chloe, just doing normal, everyday things like this.

“Yeah, I think it did,” Beca nods, relaxing back into the pillows. “Good job, Beca.”

“Why Beca?” Chloe questions, arching an auburn brow as she glances over toward Beca in amusement. “It was my plan.”

“What?” Beca shoots back, blue eyes widening. Her own expression is just as amused as Chloe’s as she props herself up onto her elbows. “Dude, no. It was mine.”

“Mm…” Chloe pretends to think for a moment, finally making her way toward the bed. She shakes her head, still damp curls bobbing across her shoulders as she climbs onto the mattress beside Beca. “Not how I remember it.”

“Oh yeah?” Beca stares over at her with raised eyebrows. Eventually, she pushes herself upright, though only to lean over and straddle Chloe’s thighs. Beca takes note of the smirk settling onto Chloe’s lips, and ignores the way it sends butterflies fluttering throughout her entire body. For good measure, not to allow this to get too cozy and domestic, Beca reaches for Chloe’s hands, tugging them gently up above her head and pinning them down against the pillow. “So how do you remember it?”

The subtle hint of amusement is still etched across Chloe’s face as she looks up at her, but she is more interested in lifting her head slightly, beckoning Beca closer, and allowing her eyes to flutter shut as their lips press against one another’s so comfortably. “Don’t remember now,” Chloe mumbles into the kiss, and as Beca’s lips curl upward against Chloe’s, she silently decides to consider this a win.

“That’s what I thought,” Beca murmurs against Chloe’s lips, pushing another soft peck against them, before finally releasing Chloe’s hands. She sits herself upright, though remains comfortably in place astride Chloe’s lap, and grins contentedly as Chloe’s palms flatten delicately against her bare thighs, fingertips stroking against soft skin.

Beca still won’t admit to this being anything more than sex. It _can’t_ be anything more than sex. But, silently, she finds that she is never more comfortable than when sleep begins to take over the two of them, and Chloe’s arm stretches out to slip beneath Beca’s neck. Beca allows herself to scoot a little closer, body curled tightly against Chloe’s, and rests her head comfortably against Chloe’s shoulder, hand settling softly on her stomach.

 _It’s just sex_ , Beca tells herself as she drifts off into a peaceful sleep, entirely content pressed up against Chloe, with the soft, familiar sound of her heartbeat drumming rhythmically in her ear.

However, when Beca wakes briefly in the middle of the night to the feeling of Chloe stretching and then pushing a soft kiss into her matted hair, Beca ignores how couply it feels. Even more so when she tilts her face to press a gentle kiss to the bare skin of Chloe’s shoulder in return.

* * *

It is Christmas time before anything changes.

For a couple months, they continue the same way as they are; Beca and Chloe hooking up in not-quite-secret, while the Bellas continue to, for lack of a better word, troll them. At one point, Stacie even begins to hit on Beca, somewhat Friends-esque ( _They don’t know that we know they know we know..._ ), and Beca awkwardly side-steps her advances while the other girls secretly giggle in the background.

Chloe has never really considered herself to be a jealous person, but it’s Stacie’s sudden interest in Beca that proves to her that she very much does have the ability to feel _real_ jealousy. Unfortunately, as a person who generally wears her heart and her emotions right there on her sleeve, she doesn’t do too well to hide it.

“Stacie’s really pretty, right?” Chloe asks nonchalantly as she sits on Beca’s bed, working through a list of holiday cards.

Beca is busy splicing together new tracks on her laptop, headphones resting coolly around her neck. They do this a lot lately, just the two of them hanging out together, comfortably doing their own thing while in the other’s presence. Beca doesn’t allow herself to question what it means, nor how much she enjoys it.

“What?” Beca doesn’t bother to look up, and instead just shrugs a shoulder. “Sure, I guess.”

“She seems to like you,” Chloe mumbles, her usual breeziness nowhere to be found.

“She’s friendly, sure,” Beca shrugs, brows knitting slightly. She notices a distinct lack of response from Chloe, who usually has plenty to say about everything, so turns to glance over her shoulder toward the bed, gaze landing on a less than impressed looking Chloe. Her lips are pursed tightly in thought. “Um… Okay, what’s going on?”

Chloe simply shrugs, continuing to write out the card she is working on, and Beca watches her carefully with an arched brow.

“Chloe…” Beca begins somewhat cautiously, eyes trained on the woman seated on her bed. Chloe doesn’t look up, she just continues to write, and Beca chews softly on the inside of her cheek. “Are you jealous?”

“Of?” Chloe asks, still without bothering to lift her head.

It’s not funny, Beca knows it’s not, but she can’t help the way she has to bite back an amused grin in response. There is just something about the way Chloe is acting, as uncharacteristically Chloe as it is, that Beca cannot help but find entirely endearing.

“You are so jealous,” Beca states, lifting off her headphones and placing them neatly down beside her laptop, before rising quickly from her seat. She folds her arms coolly across her middle, then casually makes her way toward the bed. It seems she finally has Chloe’s attention, because blue eyes rise to train on her from below. Despite herself, Chloe doesn’t disagree. She simply stares—or more so scowls—and Beca is the one with the pursed lips this time, still trying to hold back her amusement.

“Look,” Chloe finally sighs, setting down her pen. “How would you like it if people were flirting with me?”

Beca frowns in confused thought. “Everyone flirts with you.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

If Beca was to answer the question truthfully, she’d say that it does. That it sends a deep, uncomfortable rage throughout her whenever she sees anybody flirting with or hitting on Chloe, and that it’s something she has never quite experienced before. But Beca knows that is a dangerous feeling, it’s something she deals with quietly and on her own, because this between she and Chloe… It’s just sex. That’s all it is. Again, that’s all it’s allowed to be.

So, Beca quickly shakes her head. “No. Why would it?”

It doesn’t take a genius to read Chloe’s mind right now. Her feelings are made plain as day through the way her gaze drops down toward the pile of holiday cards, head shaking softly.

“Yeah,” Chloe finally says, this time nodding her head. She brings her line of sight up to Beca once more, before beginning to collect her cards in a neat pile. “You’re right, why would it?”

Beca wants to respond, but something about this whole interaction is throwing her off. Mostly because she is lying to both of them right now, and she doesn’t know how to backtrack without heading down dangerous territory. So she just stares, a little bewildered, as Chloe climbs quickly off of the bed and makes her way toward the door.

“Chlo, come on,” Beca tries, but the door is already closing behind her, leaving Beca standing in the middle of her empty room, feeling strangely like she is in the middle of a very sudden breakup.

But it’s not, because they were never together. It’s not like that.

Beca won’t allow it to be.

* * *

Beca doesn’t see Chloe for the next couple of days. It’s strange and it’s honestly kind of lonely. It sort of makes Beca feel like she is missing a whole body part, in fact. But still, she doesn’t see Chloe, so she has no idea of the conversation taking place at the Bellas house when Chloe arrives back after their… _Fight_?

“Whoa, okay, someone’s grouchy,” Stacie states, having practically jumped out of her skin in response to the sound of the door slamming harshly closed. She and Aubrey are kneeling in the middle of the living room, wrapping Christmas presents, and Chloe has a face like thunder as she barges by them.

Chloe loves the holidays, it’s rare to see her in a bad mood—it’s rare to see her in a bad mood at all, in fact, but around the holidays especially—throughout the holiday season, so both Aubrey and Stacie know that _something_ is going on.

Ever the dutiful best friend, Aubrey hops up from her position on the floor, quickly making her way toward the kitchen. “Keep wrapping,” she instructs Stacie over her shoulder, before following behind Chloe and into the next room.

“Chloe?” Aubrey questions, obvious concern lacing her tone. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

It is only at that point that Aubrey notices Chloe has been crying. Or it sure looks that way, anyway.

“I’m fine,” Chloe lies, pulling out one of the seats at the kitchen island. She doesn’t bother to look up, and instead just places her cards down on the surface before her, popping the lid off of her pen and beginning to write.

It would be entirely _un_ -Aubrey Posen to just leave their conversation at that, of course. So she finds herself floating toward the island, hands planted on her hips as she stands directly beside Chloe. “You’re not fine,” Aubrey states, voice a little softer, more gentle. “Chloe, for serious, what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing, okay?” Chloe snaps, finally focusing on Aubrey. Her red, puffy eyes give away her lie completely, and Chloe’s shoulders slump in slight defeat, soft sigh escaping her lips. “I don’t want to talk about it. I really am fine, I promise.”

Despite her efforts, Aubrey doesn’t get any further information. However, she doesn’t need it to figure out what’s going on, because there is a distinct lack of Beca Mitchell in the Bellas house that night. When Beca doesn’t show up the following day either, Aubrey’s suspicions are confirmed, and the Bellas know that it’s time to intervene.

* * *

Maybe it’s childish, the way Beca refuses to make the first move, to reach out to Chloe first following their weird evening two days prior. She tries her hardest to keep herself distracted, but on more than one occasion she finds her thumb hovering over Chloe’s contact in her phone. Whenever Beca receives a new text message notification, her heart sinks when she realizes that it’s not from Chloe.

Normally, she isn’t very active with keeping up with the Bellas group chat—it’s constantly moving, so Beca generally has it muted—but she takes note of the way she reads every single notification now, just hoping one of them will be from Chloe.

Eventually, her chance to interact with her comes in the form of a notification from Aubrey:

**Aubrey  
** _Mandatory Bellas meeting and gift exchange at the house this evening._  
_Dinner’s at 7!_

Although Beca doesn’t respond like most of the girls do, she still plans to go. However, Aubrey reaches out to her directly to confirm, and Beca thinks that it’s a little unnecessary, but she tells her she’ll be there regardless. She has gifts for each of the girls, plus she is not going to pass up on the opportunity to see Chloe. Of course, she doesn’t tell Aubrey that part.

(Beca doesn’t know that she doesn’t have to.)

It’s not that Beca dislikes the holidays at all, although she does consider them to be a little much. She has no ties to religion, and as a child of divorce, her Christmases were always kind of a pain growing up, a lot of being handed between households and feeling like something of a pawn sometimes. So, she doesn’t exactly dress up all festive looking, but she does haul a large bag full of wrapped presents along with her to the Bellas house for their gift exchange. Beca arrives just before seven, to see Aubrey exiting through the front door, phone pressed to her ear.

“Hey, am I late or something?” Beca asks, a little confused as to where Aubrey is going in her large jacket, scarf and gloves.

“Oh, no, I’m just running out to grab something,” Aubrey says a little too breezily—decidedly, Beca is not Aubrey’s favorite person, and Aubrey has never made any secret of that. “Go on in, the girls are inside.” She flashes Beca an almost suspiciously cheerful smile, before scurrying off away from the house, phone held up to her ear once more. Beca can’t hear her conversation, but truthfully, it doesn’t concern her, so she just shrugs and makes her way inside, struck instantly by the faint sound of Christmas music, and a very apparent emptiness in the large living room.

“Uh, hello?” Beca calls, knowing there is no way she was the first to arrive. Like Aubrey had said, the girls were inside… Weren’t they?

A voice, a very familiar voice, is what catches her attention from the next room.

 _“What do you mean cancelled?”_ Chloe asks, tone a little annoyed. _“Aubrey, there is so much food here, we can’t just cancel last minute!”_

If Beca had been confused before, that increases tenfold now as she follows the sound of Chloe’s voice to find her seated at the large dining room table, food set out and place settings organized for each of the girls, but Chloe is the only one there. She is deep in conversation, but pulls her gaze up as Beca enters the room, and something like confusion crosses Chloe’s face at first, before she is hanging up the phone.

“Dinner’s cancelled,” Chloe states, tone a little colder than usual as she sets down her phone on the table beside her.

“What?” Beca questions, large bag of presents held tightly by her side. She motions over her shoulder with her free hand. “No, I just saw Aubrey, she said everyone was inside and she was just running out to grab something.”

It is safe to say that neither of them has any idea of what’s going on, but it’s also very obvious that they’re the only two here. Various scenarios flash through Beca’s mind, but she finds that she is coming up short of any real explanation.

Their phones buzz in unison, Beca’s from her pocket and Chloe’s from the table, so both girls exchange a glance, before opening up the text message notification from the Bellas group chat.

**Stacie  
** _fix it_

**Amy  
** _yeah, whatever’s going on with you two, it’s time to fix it_

It takes a moment of staring at her screen for Beca to register that they’re talking about she and Chloe, though when she glances up toward Chloe, it seems realization has set in already for her.

**Lilly  
** _Do you guys want to see a dead body?_

**Aubrey  
** _Not now, Lilly!_

“Uh, do they…” Beca begins somewhat cautiously, although cuts herself off mid-question, because _how_ would they know about them? They have been so careful, right?

**Aubrey  
** _Chloe, Beca, enjoy your date._  
_Let us know when we can come back._

Date? Beca stares at her screen, blinking a couple times, before bringing her gaze up to Chloe again. Chloe is staring at her phone, bewildered.

 _Yeah_ , Beca thinks… _They know_.

* * *

For a brief moment, Beca doesn’t really know what to do. She just stands, kind of awkwardly, and considers maybe dropping off the bag and then turning to leave, but something is stopping her. Maybe it is the confusion, the last minute plan evidently set up by the other Bellas. Or maybe it’s those familiar eyes, wide and expectant, looking at her from across the table. Beca doesn’t know, not until Chloe stands from her seat, as if she is about to depart instead, and Beca finds herself stepping forward hastily.

“Hey, no,” Beca shakes her head, “Where are you going?”

“Come on, Beca,” Chloe sighs, tucking a red curl neatly behind her ear. “They have the wrong idea, you know they do. You’ve made it very clear that this,” Chloe motions between the two of them, “Is nothing serious. It’s just sex. There’s nothing to fix. Let’s just… I don’t know, go upstairs and hook up or something.” Chloe’s shoulders slump, and Beca feels her heart drop down into her stomach at the exact same time.

Beca wants to say that she doesn’t know why, but she does. They both know that she does. And maybe it is finally time for Beca to quit fighting it. She is only denying herself of something incredible, the way she has been this whole time, anyway.

“You know that I don’t plan to be here for much longer, right?” Beca begins, voice a little quieter. She carefully sets down the bag of gifts on an empty patch of table, then tugs her sleeves down over her hands, walking slowly toward Chloe. Her boots clunk against the hard floor, filling the near silence surrounding them, and Chloe doesn’t move from her spot. She just stands and watches, waiting for Beca to go on.

“Or I didn’t,” Beca continues, tongue licking slowly over the small part between her dry lips. She finds that she is glancing downward slightly, like this conversation is hard for her. But Beca still means what she’s saying, even if she can’t properly look Chloe in the eye just yet. “I didn’t want anything to keep me here. I didn’t even want to be here in the first place. So this…” It’s Beca’s turn to motion between the two of them this time, and her gaze lifts to settle on Chloe’s face. She sees the way Chloe is watching her, taking everything in, and suddenly Beca can’t bring herself to look away. “It was supposed to just be sex, you know? Nothing more than that, nothing that would make me want to stay. But you’re right.”

While Chloe continues to watch her, Beca notices a slight hint of confusion written across her pale features, and she knows she needs to clarify. She has started now, so there is no point in stopping, anyway. Not that she could if she tried, not with those familiar eyes on her, silently begging her to go on.

“I do get jealous. When people flirt with you, when I think about you being with anybody else, it fucking sucks. And sometimes I think about how it’s going to be next year, when I’m not here and I don’t get to see you every day. And honestly it just… That sucks even more.”

Beca’s already small voice has quietened some, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t mean what she is saying, and the expression on Chloe’s face tells Beca she knows it, too.

“I don’t want to be the reason that you don’t do what you want to do,” Chloe picks up now, gaze trained entirely on Beca. They’re standing pretty closely together, enough so that Chloe can reach out a hand to gently take hold of Beca’s, and Beca doesn’t resist. “But I also don’t like the thought of you leaving, either.”

The way Beca feels her heart racing now, it’s both foreign and familiar. It is the way it only ever races around Chloe, and it is still something Beca is getting used to. Something it’s probably going to take her a long time to properly understand, but she does know one thing. Amidst all of the confusion, Beca knows one thing for certain, and without proper thought, she can’t help but voice it.

“I guess it’s not just sex, is it?” Beca questions, voice small and timid, almost scared sounding.

Chloe responds with a soft shake of her head, and Beca feels her lips curling upward slightly, the level of comfort only Chloe can bring to her settling within her as their fingers lace so easily together.

“Is that all you want it to be?” Chloe asks, wide eyes an impossible mixture of both sad and hopeful. The former breaks Beca’s heart a little bit.

“That’s all I wanted it to be,” Beca admits, tongue licking over her once again dry lips. “But no, not anymore.”

“Then it doesn’t have to be,” Chloe confirms, gently tugging Beca closer with their intertwined fingers. “You’re more than that to me, Bec. You have been for a little while now.”

Beca’s bottom lip drags in between her teeth, and she finds herself softly nodding her head in response, heat rising to her cheeks. “You’re more than that to me, too.”

No, Beca doesn’t hate the holidays, but she doesn’t care too much for them either. As Chloe closes the small gap between them, though, soft, familiar lips pressing so naturally to her own, Beca finds that her opinion changes slightly.

As she tugs Chloe’s long arm around her waist, her own hand rising to settle delicately against a pale, lightly freckled cheek, Beca thinks about the Bellas’ medling. She thinks about the woman standing before her, the woman who consumes her every thought.

And Beca decides then and there that this Christmas? Well, this Christmas just might be her best one yet.

Oh, and there’s no way she is leaving Chloe next year. Beca will figure something else out, she doesn’t know what yet, but that’s something she knows for sure.


End file.
